Wednesday, 22 January 2014

More catch up recipes from 2013

Sometimes it is hard to believe I haven't blogged some of these recipes because they are so good. Take this Socca with caramelised onion, pan-fried kale and tomato sauce. It was slightly adapted from Lisa's Vegan Culinary Crusade. It was so delicious. Yet I thought I would make it again before posting about it and I never did. I must eat more socca. These chickpea flatbreads are amazing.

Walnut crusted tofu cutlets

I made these Walnut crusted tofu cutlets after reading the rave by Cindy at Where's the Beef. I liked them but they were too thick and too much tahini for me. I still intend to make them again with another nut butter. They were rather good and E was quite taken with them.

Cauliflower pizza base

I've tried a cauliflower pizza base previously. It was good but quite fragile. I saw this one on Brittany Angell's Real Sustance. It was vegan and used starch and psyllium husks as well as cauliflower and almonds. It was more bready and more sturdy but still a bit soft. Sylvia refused to try it. While it was an improvement, I think I never posted it because I kept hoping I might one day have a cauliflower pizza base that I will really love.

One pot thai style peanut pasta

I occasionally hear people talk about how aspirational Pinterest is. As though it for the dreamers. Yet I find myself often actually making recipe found there. However not all of them deliver what the pretty picture promises. This One pot thai style peanut pasta from Apron Strings made for beautiful photographs but it didn't quite live up to the picture. To be fair to the original, I made this in a hurry, made changes to the recipe and I am not overly comfortable with peanut dishes due to Sylvia's allergy. I still like the idea of throwing everything in a pot and cooking until you have a meal.

Cashew Tofu Ricotta Stuffed Shells with Lentil Pumpkin Sauce

I have had a pasta splurge in the latter part of last year and still feel up to my eyeballs in pasta. We don't eat it enough. One packet of pasta was jumbo pasta shells. I've never used them before and decided on a vegan Cashew Tofu Ricotta Stuffed Shells with Lentil Pumpkin Sauce adapted from KZ Cakes. This was nice but filling was too strong and didn't fill enough of the pasta shells. The recipe didn't specify the size of the packet of tofu and I think I guessed wrong. Something to try another time.

Spinach tamales

I first tasted tamales at Trippy Taco last year and they were amazing. Soon after I saw Katie of Apple and Spice making Spinach Tamales. I was so excited about trying them. They were good but didn't quite work as they should. Katie's tamales were light and fluffy but mine were more green and more dense. I should have tried them again but I think I am a bit wary about them and went on to try other things with my masa lista flour.

Noodle soup with kale and chickpeas

This recipe for a Noodle soup with kale and chickpeass is from 2012 or earlier. So long ago. It was made on a night when Sylvia jumped from the arm of the couch and bit her lip so hard that blood poured everywhere. I only know this because I still have my notes. I am not sure how much I enjoyed it but I did note that I added yoghurt at the end because it needed a lift. It was heavily adapted from Heidi's New Year Noodle Soup recipe at 101 Cookbooks. I used split peas, pumpkin, kale, chickpeas, and the juice of limes from the garden.

Cabbage and corn vermicelli salad with almond coconut dressing

If I remember rightly I really enjoyed this Cabbage and corn vermicelli salad with almond coconut dressing from Denis Cotter's For the Love of Food cookbook. His recipes have long complex titles and are long and complex but they are delicious and innovative. My version didn't look much like his photo, but then again I didn't really follow his recipe. It was an Asian style salad. So I was horrified when I suggested E put ketjap manis on it and he doused it in ketchup. It was made for a lazy holiday lunch and just what I needed.

Mexican rice bowl

This Mexican rice bowl was inspired by Two Peas and Their Pod. I really like the idea of "dinner bowls" full of good grains, proteins and vegetables. This one had corn, spring onion, tomato, kidney beans, green capsicum, avocado and lime rice. I noted that I needed to work on the lime rice. I think it needed a bit more flavour to bring the bowl together. Must try this again.

the chickpea thing from the Moroccan Soup Bar

Cindy recently reminded me of the chickpea thing from the Moroccan Soup Bar that she had blogged at Where's the Beef? many years back. I was too lazy to toast pita bread but decided to use the Tucker caramelised onion gourmet crisps that I showcased here. I didn't do much measurement - lots of chickpeas and yoghurt with a little tahini, lemon juice and garlic, probably seasoning. Excellent for a quick lunch.

Low Fat Chocolate Cake

I found the Low fat chocolate cake from the Australian Women's Weekly that I found on Laws of the Kitchen. Reading my notes reminds me why I made it (I had leftover egg whites) and why I wasn't so keen on it. We had some chai powder we didn't really like so I put it in the cake when I ran out of cocoa. Silly idea. The cake was too sweet and I blamed the chai powder. After that I threw out the chai but never got around to trying the cake again.

Thanks Brydie - it has taken me months to do this (and some of the recipes are definitely older than 2013 but I am not even sure how old - a bit embarrassing - blogger used to keep a record of the date the post was started but no more). So many recipes not quite right I think I will return to and blog again - sometimes I even do that :-)

Thanks Lorraine - I wouldn't say that I dislike them - most that I loved them but something was missing and so I want to record them and hope to prompt me to return to them and make them the way I really love them. If only everything worked brilliantly the first time - or that I had the dedication to make something again and again til I got it right :-)

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Recipes and reflections in which our vegetarian heroine dreams of being tall and graceful as a giraffe; being a goddess in the kitchen; and being gladdened by green gadgets, green food and green politics because green is the colour of hope. See About Me for more info.